Daniel Sirstad
Dealing With Disappointment
Dealing with disappointment is an inevitable part of life. Whether it’s a prayer not answered in the way we hoped, a failed relationship, or an unfulfilled dream, we all experience moments of frustration and sorrow. As Christians, how we respond to disappointment can shape our faith and deepen our trust in God. Acknowledge Your Feelings…
Active Accountability
Active accountability is essential for Christians who seek to grow in faith, maintain spiritual integrity, and live according to God’s will. Unlike passive accountability, which may rely on occasional check-ins or correction when mistakes are noticed, active accountability is intentional, consistent, and proactive. It requires a commitment to transparency, regular self-examination, and a willingness to…
Trust The Process
Trust the process. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines a process as “a continuing development involving many changes.” Time is referred to many times throughout Scripture, with over 500 verses that refer to time in some manner. Solomon, a man of wisdom, taught us that “to everything, there is a season, a time and a purpose under heaven.”…
The Best Gift
Who will get the best gift this year? Will it be you, me, or someone else? James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no change or shadow of turning.” The God we serve is not just our God, but…
Are You Teachable?
Are you teachable? In Jeremiah 36, we see an exciting story of a time when Jeremiah received a message from the Lord for the people of Israel. This was around the time of the first Babylonian invasion (605 BC) when Daniel and other captives were taken to Babylon. God commanded Jeremiah not only to speak His prophecies but also to write them. You must understand—these weren’t pleasant things Jeremiah was writing about. Many…
False Belief Systems
For most of this year, I have been attending one of Apostolic Moral Purity’s Spiritual Discovery Groups for men, and we have recently been studying false belief systems. A comment that Michael Dye (author of The Genesis Process) makes is, “Beliefs create emotions and emotions drive beliefs.” There is a difference between true beliefs and false…
Ditch The Timeline!
Ditch the timeline! We often hear timelines attached to healing from different physical injuries such as broken bones, wounds, surgeries, and more. When an individual suffers from emotional trauma and grief, it’s no surprise that people often want to attach a timeline to that healing process as well. If only I could tell you how frequently I heard the phrase, “Healing from betrayal trauma takes 3-5 years.” However, it’s hard to place a timeline on our emotional healing. Healing is unique to…
Rejecting God’s Forgiveness
Is rejecting God’s forgiveness possible? “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 KJV). “…There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent” (Luke 24:47 NLT). There is no doubt that God’s forgiveness is available to whosoever will.…
Guilt & Shame
Guilt & Shame Guilt and shame have terrible effects on a person, both spiritually and physically. When someone carries guilt and shame around, unbeknownst to others, it usually affects every part of their life. In Psalm 38, we find David struggling with this after sinning (which one is unclear). You can feel the pain and guilt of his…
Vanguard ’24 Report
Last month, people from throughout the USA and Canada converged in Austin, Texas, for Apostolic Moral Purity’s 2nd annual Vanguard Conference. The conference kicked off with a powerful opening session, “Set Free to Be Free,” delivered by UPCI General Superintendent David Bernard. This session set the tone for the rest of the event. The emphasis of…
Is Anger Good or Bad?
It’s been said that anger is one of the most fundamental negative emotions. Just hearing the word, most of us immediately think of a negative experience we’ve had with it. We typically don’t like the word and often want to disguise anger by using other words such as annoyed, perturbed, aggravated, peeved, hurt, or frustrated. However, knowing that anger is not necessarily a negative emotion is helpful. Anger can have a very positive function. It’s how we express our anger that makes it negative or positive. God designed anger to have a positive function; we tend to misuse it most of the time. What does God say about this emotion? Ephesians 4:26, “Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the…
The Power of Forgiveness
Proverbs 18:14, “The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?” “The human spirit can endure a sick body, but who can bear a crushed spirit?” NLT When our spirit is strong and healthy, we can survive problems and difficulties. But if our spirit is wounded, we do…